


legacy of a butterfly

by HeavenlyDusk



Category: Fruits Basket, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canonical Character Death, Crossover, F/M, Family, Identity Reveal, in the sense that the sohmas learn that tohru does in fact have maternal family, tohru doesn't join vongola i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24534673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeavenlyDusk/pseuds/HeavenlyDusk
Summary: Sasagawa Kyouko does not go to Italy.Instead, Sasagawa Kyouko stays in Japan, joins a gang, falls in love, leaves her gang, drops out of high school, and has a daughter. Tohru will never be a criminal, but she will always be loved by her mother's family.
Relationships: Honda Katsuya/Honda Kyouko, Honda Katsuya/Sasagawa Kyouko, Honda Kyouko & Honda Tohru, Honda Tohru & Sasagawa Ryouhei, Kurokawa Hana/Sasagawa Ryouhei, Sasagawa Kyouko & Sasagawa Ryouhei, Sasagawa Kyouko & Sawada Tsunayoshi
Comments: 15
Kudos: 343
Collections: Identity Crisis





	legacy of a butterfly

**Author's Note:**

> i have at least two different khr/furuba crossovers in the making. this is one of them.  
> in which sasagawa kyouko is honda kyouko (the kanji are different but shh)
> 
> changed up the timeline a little to make the kyouko/katsuya a bit less, uh... The Way That It Is. and so middle school mafia stuff still happened. kyouko is about 17 when she meets katsuya. still not great, but we make do.  
> also kyouko can no longer cook
> 
> enjoy!

When Kyouko went to high school, she stayed in Japan, and as a young girl who felt left behind by the majority of everyone she cared for, she made some bad decisions.

Her brother was in Italy. He followed Tsuna and the rest of them for high school there, now that they had graduated and Tsuna had to focus on his boss training. Kyouko wanted to stay, and so she did, unlike Haru, who chose to follow Tsuna. And Hana would have stayed for her, if she had asked, but she was accepted into a school even better than Kyouko’s, one that could help her achieve her dream. Kyouko wasn’t going to stop her, just as Tsuna never stopped her from staying in Japan.

So for high school, she was alone.

Becoming a gang member was, perhaps, a little stupid of her. She was a criminal—had been a criminal ever since she decided she wanted to be Tsuna’s friend, but this was different. A part of her felt closer to her brother and her friends in Italy by doing this. It wasn’t Dying Will Flames and saving the future, no, but it was crime all the same. As odd as it was, it made her feel at home. (Though, as far as they knew, the only change she made in her life was growing her hair out. She made sure to never wear her jacket when they video-called.)

As she grew in notoriety, she became known as the Red Butterfly. It wasn’t hard; gangs were just so _dull_ compared to the fights she had been in at Tsuna’s side. She was ruthless, trained by the best of the best in the criminal underworld and if she wanted, she thought—she _thought—_ she could probably take over the gang herself. Hand them over to Tsuna on a silver platter, like a gift if he ever needed new eyes in Japan.

But she didn’t like to think of herself as a leader. She didn’t care for it. Instead, she contented herself with blood in the air and her fist on someone’s cheek, and the motorcycle she rode in the night. It was the closest she ever felt to flying.

Kyouko got caught up in it, in her lies that this could be even a fraction of the family she used to have—still had, if she weren’t so stubborn about it. It was lower stakes than the mafia had ever been, so she thought it was _safe enough_ while still being close to what her friends were doing, so far away from her. It was enough, she thought, to still be a criminal without worrying about assassinations and the business side of things.

It was only after she met Katsuya that the truth dawned on her.

No gang could ever be like what Vongola had been for her. They were _family_ , in every sense of the word, and she knew it even at fifteen years old and still unsure whether she wanted to follow them or not. Her gang didn’t laugh with each other about dumb jokes or support each other through even the smallest hardship. It was a group of people who tolerated each other only because they hated the rest of the world. There was nothing familial about that at all.

She had gotten complacent, she realized as she tried her damned hardest to fight off her gang. There were no life-threatening catastrophes aiming for her or her friends, and she never felt the need to become Flame Active, so she became—softer, than the mafia had been. She underestimated them, these civilian delinquents, and now she wasn’t too different from them.

She failed out of high school when her hospitalization kept her in for too long.

“It’s funny,” she told Katsuya, smiling at him from her hospital bed. He looked awful, but she had never felt more like herself since Tsuna.

“What is?” he asked. His hands twitched, like he wanted to hold hers but was holding himself back.

“This.” She giggled. “It’s funny how I was my middle school’s idol, and now I’m here. I wonder what all my former classmates would say if they saw me now.”

She would find out what some of them had to say the next day, as her brother came storming into her hospital room, followed closely by Hana and Haru, with Tsuna and the Guardians on their heels.

* * *

Kyouko could have gone back to the mafia. She would always have a home with Vongola—that was one thing she would always be absolutely certain of. She would have, too, had she figured herself out and left the gang on her own. While she didn’t like the dubiously legal workings of the mafia, even with all the good work Tsuna was trying to do, she would have been more than happy just living with her family.

But that was only if she didn’t have Katsuya, and Katsuya was a normal man. And for her, being Vongola was never about the crime, for all that she used crime to feel closer to them. All she cared about was the people. Her family would always be there for her, but Katsuya was where she wanted to stay.

When she became pregnant and she had Tohru, she knew she would never go back to that life.

“I understand,” Tsuna told her on a holiday that he was able to visit.

They were still young. Neither of them were old enough for their lives—him, to be Vongola Decimo within the next few years and her, barely old enough to be a mother when she should have been graduating that year. But already, they knew they would be going separate paths.

Kyouko rocked Tohru in her arms. “She’s my joy, Tsuna-kun,” she said quietly. She had always wanted children. It was earlier than she expected, but she was happy nonetheless. She wasn’t willing to lose this. “I… if anything were to happen to me and Katsuya, if we were to ever leave Tohru alone, I-I don’t want her going to you. Katsuya’s father supports us; he can take care of her. Only as a last resort will she go to Vongola, alright? Promise me that, please. Promise me that she won’t go to Vongola unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Tsuna looked at her with soft, understanding eyes. This was the man she would have followed to the ends of the earth. Sometimes, she still thought she would. “Of course. If I could help it, I’d keep my own future children away from Vongola, too.”

He still had work to do. It was still more mafia than vigilante, and it would continue to be for a long time. Even when it finally happened, she didn’t want Tohru anywhere near them. And luckily, Tsuna hated Vongola even more than she did.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

* * *

It became clear, as the years passed, that Tohru wasn’t meant for mafia anyway, and Kyouko wouldn’t admit to nearly collapsing in relief when she realized. Tohru didn’t take after her at all. She had her spirit, perhaps, and the ability to smile through anything and everything, but she didn’t inherit her love for the thrill. She didn’t itch for bruised knuckles and adrenaline in her veins. She was every bit her father’s daughter. That made things easier. It meant that there was even less of a chance for her to be drawn into crime.

“I’m _extremely_ glad,” her brother said, quiet so as not to startle Tohru out of her nap. “I didn’t want you involved in Vongola. I won’t let anything get close to your family.” The unspoken _None of us will_ sat between them.

Kyouko smiled. “I know.”

Naturally, Tohru charmed the pants off of all of her extended family. Katsuya’s family—with the exception of his wonderful father—were all assholes, but Vongola _adored_ her. Even Mukuro, who had always been the most hands-off with the Vongola kids, fell to her whims. And it was exactly because Vongola adored her that Kyouko knew she could trust them.

None of them should have been in the mafia. Reborn admitted that himself, though it had been a difficult admittance to pry it out of him, so Tsuna had said. They were all children, thirteen and fourteen years old; and Lambo, Fuuta, and I-Pin had been even younger. They were all forced into this and that shouldn’t have happened, but Tohru didn’t have to be.

Kyouko was a Sasagawa once, but she was a Honda now. And a Honda wasn’t a criminal.

She curled her fingers through Tohru’s hair, watching her sleeping face fondly. She was so small. So innocent.

Kyouko would protect her with her life.

* * *

Katsuya didn’t know what Vongola was—and she would have to tell him eventually—but he took them in stride. Kyouko loved him for that. He didn’t even flinch when she admitted to him that she might have fallen in love with Tsuna, once, had circumstances not been what they were. But even so, she still loved him in a different way. They were family. Katsuya only smiled, took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

“I’m glad,” he said. “You deserve to be loved.”

She smiled and her cheeks were warm.

Before she was beaten by her gang, Katsuya had been under the impression that she had no family who loved her. It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption—she didn’t talk about Vongola, and her parents certainly didn’t care for her. They cared even less for Ryouhei when they were growing up. He was too much trouble for them, so Kyouko had set aside her desire to join his training in favor of making sure he didn’t get himself killed. When Ryouhei left and Kyouko became scarce, they hardly even noticed when she was gone. They hadn’t visited her in the hospital.

Katsuya’s expression when Vongola had come storming in was hilarious. She couldn’t help laughing, even though her ribs were in pain every time she jerked and Hana yelled at her for doing such stupid things and Ryouhei had to be kept from using his Sun Flames to heal her in front of a civilian. But, as Katsuya always did, he smiled and let it happen.

When Tsuna tried to help fund their wedding and buy their house—“I have way too much dirty money to get rid of,” he had claimed—Katsuya only shook his head, rejecting the money but thanking him for the offer.

Kyouko loved him. She loved his easygoing nature, his smile, the way his arms felt around her, how he didn’t mind whenever he came home to find another one of their family sitting at their table. He never pried either, for which she was grateful, though she knew he had his suspicions.

“They won’t be dangerous to Tohru, will they?” he had asked once.

Kyouko shook her head. “Never. They would sooner die than let anything happen to Tohru, or either of us.” And Katsuya had nodded, pressed a kiss to her forehead and then to Tohru’s.

Losing him was worse than losing Ryouhei to Vongola, because at least she could still call. There was nothing she could do to hear Katsuya’s voice again.

* * *

“How can I call myself a mother?” Kyouko sobbed into her hands as Ryouhei rubbed her back. Tohru was fast asleep upstairs, perfectly content, not even the slightest bit angry about her mother’s neglect. “How could I just— _forget_ my own daughter? My only child?” The shame was almost too much to bear. Tohru was really too good for her, just like Katsuya had been. And she had loved Katsuya but _this_ —this was no excuse.

Luckily, Ryouhei wasn’t the type to give empty platitudes. He had never been good at using tact to be sympathetic; he just so happened to be better at being softer about it. “You can be better now,” he said. “You did the wrong thing. Now that you know, you can be the most extreme mother you can be.”

Kyouko peeked up at him. “To the extreme,” she agreed and managed a shaky smile. “Thank you, for being here. For taking care of Tohru in my absence.”

It irked how she actually had no idea when he came. Life, after Katsuya’s death, had been a haze of day-to-day life. She didn’t know how she had even managed to keep herself alive this whole time, before she had the _stupid_ thought of trying to go into the sea, but she was sure she had Tohru to thank for that. Ryouhei had just seemed to show up at some point, but she hadn’t paid much attention. She could clearly see now that he had spent the past few days taking care of Tohru while she wasn’t.

He must have been waiting for her to get out of her head herself. He had learned patience since moving to Italy.

Ryouhei smiled back. “She’s my extremely adorable niece. When she answered the phone, I had to come and see her.”

“Is that how you knew to come?”

“Yes. Tsuna gave me two weeks off.”

“I’ll remember to thank him, too.” Kyouko wiped her eyes and after another moment, set her hands on her knees as she stood. “Alright. I should make dinner. You just wait here, Nii-chan.”

Ryouhei’s expression turned to alarm. “Uh, are you sure that’s okay?”

“It’ll be fine!”

When Tohru came down after her nap, it was to her mother and uncle yelling as they tried to put out the fire on the stove. Kyouko grinned at her daughter, face streaked with black, and said, “I think we’re going to order out tonight.”

* * *

Meeting the little Carrot Top was an accident, but choosing to bother him after the fact was not. He was just so cute and angry—she couldn’t help it. He was like a mini-Hayato with different hair, back before he started to really settle into his role as Tsuna’s right hand. He even had a little rival, and Kyouko had to keep herself from fawning and laughing over it.

Of course, Carrot Top only told her about himself when he was angry. Usually, he stayed tightlipped. Kyouko was fine with that. She was perfectly capable of telling enough stories for the both of them, of which she had plenty. And for all that the little boy sniped at her, he didn’t stop her, so she took it as permission.

“I have a large family,” she said, grinning up at the sky. Carrot Top looked at her warily. “I’m not related to any of them, except for my older brother, but I love them.”

“How can you love people you’re not related to?” Carrot Top asked.

She leaned over and bopped his nose, getting a startled hiss in return. She laughed. He was like a little cat. “Very easily! My parents didn’t love me at all, so I made my own family. Family is just people who you can be yourself around, you know. Now I have a daughter, and I think I’m doing a lot better with her these days. At least, I hope I am.” She frowned, thinking of high school. “I was a mess before my husband came into my life, and I became a mess again after he died.”

“You don’t look like a mess,” Carrot Top said.

“Aw, how sweet,” she cooed. He glared at her. “That’s because I’m trying to be better. For Tohru. Oh, oh! Do you want to see a picture? She is just the _cutest_ little girl ever! Cuter than even I-Pin-chan had been—oh, not that I’d ever tell her that. Here, look!” Kyouko fumbled for her wallet, taking out her photos and shoving them in Carrot Top’s face.

He recoiled at the sudden movement. “I don’t want to see pictures of your kid!” he snapped. “And who the hell is I-Pin?”

“Look at my cute Tohru!” she said aggressively, shoving the pictures even further into his face. Carrot Top grumbled, but squinted at the picture anyway. “Isn’t she adorable? She’s such a good kid. I love her so much.”

“I can tell.”

Carrot Top got this look on his face, something confused and pained. She would later come to realize, when she met him more often, that he wore that expression a lot when she talked about loving her family. It didn’t paint a great picture. Maybe it was the Vongola in her that made her want to take him from whatever was causing him pain and raise him herself.

But, in the end, she didn’t really know Carrot Top, and she couldn’t file anything for a boy she didn’t know anything about. And it hurt her every time she saw him looking angry and on the verge of tears and there was nothing she could do but talk to him about herself and Tohru. She hoped, one day, that he would be okay the way she turned out okay.

* * *

As Tohru went into middle school, Kyouko asked to sit down with her.

This was a necessary conversation, if one she didn’t particularly want to have. She should be talking to both Tohru and Katsuya about it, but he was gone and it was just the two of them. Tohru was a strong girl, just like her father, so Kyouko hoped she would be able to handle it. She had seen firsthand what withholding this information could do to a family, and she didn’t want to catch Tohru off-guard if anything were to ever happen. Even if she didn’t understand, she would at least be prepared and know what was going on.

“What is it, Mom?” Tohru asked as she sat across from her.

“There’s something I need you to be aware of,” Kyouko began gently. “This is something you must never, _ever_ tell anyone—at least not without asking me or one of your relatives on my side. It involves my family, and knowing about it is dangerous and will be terrifying, but I want you to know that you are protected. You can live your life normally. I just need to tell you in case there’s any reason for you to be prepared. Hopefully, it will never come to that.”

Tohru’s eyes went wide. “Wh-what? Mom, you’re scaring me…”

Kyouko sighed. “There’s no easy way to put this. Tohru, you know about gangs and the yakuza. My family… well, your Uncle Ryouhei—he’s something like that. Mafia, which is similar but larger than yakuza, and based largely in the West. That’s why all of my family lives in Italy.”

“What… what does that mean? Is that why Italian is my second language?”

“Yes. Just as a precaution. All of your aunts and uncles on my side are criminals, Tohru. But don’t worry—they’re not bad people. Your Uncle Tsuna is the boss and he’s been working hard to change their organization into something of a vigilante group rather than a criminal one.”

“Uncle Tsuna is a vigilante?” Tohru’s eyes seemed to spin, and Kyouko knew that she was being too hasty with this explanation.

She tried again, slower this time. She laid out all of the basics for Tohru, patiently leading her through everything she needed to know. No, she did not have to be afraid of their family. No, she did not have to be a criminal either; she and Kyouko were civilians. No, this did not affect their lives at all.

Tsuna and his mother had been completely in the dark when Tsuna was growing up. That had been a mistake. They were in constant danger when they didn’t know, and as much as Kyouko wanted to shield her daughter from knowing anything about that kind of life, she knew she couldn’t. Tohru would be in even more danger if she didn’t know how to stay aware. Kyouko was just glad that she wasn’t so closely connected to Vongola, and that she didn’t have the bad luck to have a name commonly associated with the Famiglia.

By the end of their conversation, she was exhausted, but Tohru seemed to understand. She was shaken, and it would take her the rest of the night to bounce back, but she was okay. She would be ready, just in case. She had to be.

* * *

Tohru was turning out to be so much like Tsuna that Kyouko wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. From the clumsiness to the taking in strays as early as middle school—it was all just like him, and Uotani Arisa was _just_ like Kyouko’s high school self. _That_ little fact made it all too easy for Kyouko to fold and give her the best damn welcoming she was capable of.

Uo-chan hated it, because of course she did. Kyouko wasn’t offended by her bad attitude and lashing out. She was young and lonely and Tohru might have been the first person to ever truly be kind to her. Kyouko knew better than most that those kinds of issues took time to heal. Time, and a whole lot more kindness.

Because, for all that she reminded her of Tsuna sometimes, Tohru really was just like both of her parents—she couldn’t leave people behind once she imprinted.

Uo-chan was worn down and soon enough, Tohru was cooking dinner for three and Kyouko was setting up an extra futon five nights out of seven.

She was settling into their little family wonderfully. Though she was still rough around the edges, it was clear that Tohru was a good influence on her. She was showing up with less and less injuries and Kyouko started coming home to find the two studying at the table. It was _adorable._

“How did you just stop?” Uo-chan asked one day while Tohru was in the kitchen.

“I realized there were people waiting for me, if only I would just stop and look,” Kyouko answered, smiling gently. She hoped the hint was clear enough.

Uo-chan was quiet for a few moments as she fiddled with her fingers on top of the table. “I think…” she said. “I think I’m going to leave my gang tomorrow.”

Kyouko raised her eyebrows. “Be careful,” she said. “That’s not something you can do lightly.” Uo-chan nodded firmly, not quiet looking up at her. Kyouko leaned forward and cupped one of her hands between her own, waiting until she was looking at her before speaking again. “I’m proud of you.”

Uo-chan blushed so brightly that Kyouko was almost worried that her head would explode.

The worry nagged at her throughout the next day. She had been hospitalized when her gang beat her for leaving in high school, and she had disregarded that at the time, but it was different when it was Uo-chan. Kyouko couldn’t sit still as the sun began to set, and eventually, she made her resolve.

“Tohru,” she said as she tugged on a jacket that she hadn’t worn in years, “I’m going to find Uo-chan, okay? Get the first-aid kit ready.” The first-aid kit was a wedding present from Tsuna, so it was Vongola quality and much better equipped than any civilian kit. It would more than likely be more than enough for Uo-chan.

“H-huh?” Tohru said, blinking in shock and worry. “Will you be okay, Mom? Will Uo-chan?”

Kyouko smiled reassuringly at her. “We’ll be just fine. Your Mom’s really strong.”

“Oh, I-I know that! I’m just—ah! Be careful, Mom!” Tohru fretted. Kyouko laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead before bidding goodbye.

Kyouko knew where the gangs tended to hang out. It was habit to check everywhere she lived for possible criminal activity, and after Uo-chan began coming around more often, she paid extra attention to where gangs hung out. It took her very little time to find her.

She was out of practice, but she and Uo-chan both came out of it no worse for wear, and they were both smiling as she carried the young and wounded girl home.

* * *

Hanajima Saki was, thankfully, much easier to handle and was dragged in mostly by Tohru and Uo-chan’s combined efforts at school. Not that Kyouko didn’t love her just as much as she loved Uo-chan, but she wasn’t sure she could deal with getting into another fistfight with a bunch of teenagers.

Her apparent powers were interesting. Kyouko could see the way she held herself, terrified of crossing any lines and of being judged and found wanting, but she was no old hat at weird supernatural powers. She took it in stride, gushed over the new abilities in the same way she had once gushed over Flames, and set up yet another futon for more crowded sleepovers.

“Your waves…” Hana-chan murmured on a day that Tohru and Uo-chan were otherwise distracted, and then she flinched. Kyouko only blinked at her.

From what she understood, ‘waves’ were how Hana-chan could feel people’s life essences, and she had the power to manipulate them. Or something like that. Kyouko wondered if she was sensing Flames or something else entirely, but she wasn’t about to ask for specifics when Hana-chan was so clearly afraid of her powers still.

“What is it, Hana-chan?” she asked, smiling gently. “What do you feel from my waves?”

“They feel… turbulent,” Hana-chan continued slowly, as though she wasn’t sure that she really had permission to keep going. Kyouko only continued to silently encourage her. “A little dark, but not a bad dark. They’re very kind, though a little energetic. They’re also… hard to pin down. I can’t get a proper feel from you.” She clutched the sleeves of her dress nervously.

A long time ago, Ryouhei and Chrome had told her that if she were to awaken her Flames, she would either end up a Sunny Mist or a Misty Sun, but neither were sure which way she would have leaned. Kyouko had never been interested in becoming Flame Active, so it never mattered to her. She thought, in this moment, that it might have been those two flames that Hana-chan was feeling.

She continued to smile at the girl, hoping she looked nonthreatening. “I can understand why,” she told her quietly. “You’re not the only person with powers I’ve ever met. You might be feeling their imprint.”

Hana-chan’s eyes widened. “There are… others?”

“Yes, of course. You’re not alone, Hana-chan. I may even be able to help you.” After all, Kyouko had plenty of experience with dangerous powers.

When Tohru and Uo-chan came back, it was to Hana-chan wiping away tears with a tiny smile on her face.

* * *

“You’re too much of an influence on my daughter,” Kyouko said to Tsuna as soon as he picked up the phone.

“ _What?_ ” Tsuna said warily. “ _Hello to you too, Kyouko-chan._ ”

“Tohru’s been taking in _strays_ ,” Kyouko stressed. “She’s just like you! What have you been telling her?”

“ _Isn’t that because of you?_ ”

Admittedly, Kyouko _had_ been raising Tohru with the importance of being kind and accepting to everyone, but really, she couldn’t help blaming Tsuna just a little. “Stop talking to Tohru!” she ordered.

“ _What?_ Kyouko-chan!”

* * *

Kyouko never was able to graduate high school, and she did regret that a little. Having Tohru with Katsuya was more important to her, though, so it ultimately didn’t matter. Tohru being able to go to high school was another thing altogether—she was absolutely ecstatic. Her little girl was growing up and she was so much better than Kyouko had ever been. She _would be_ so much better than her.

Tohru was doing wonderfully, too, studying extra hard to graduate and make her proud. It made Kyouko want to pinch her cheeks, which she did often. When she saw Tohru fast asleep after a hard night of doing exactly that, Kyouko couldn’t bear to wake her. She pressed a kiss to the top of her head, draped a blanket over her shoulders, and whispered a quiet goodbye before heading to work.

She couldn’t wait to see her daughter graduate.

But it wasn’t to be.

Kyouko couldn’t have accounted for the car. She didn’t have the honed instincts of a former criminal anymore, and she hardly had Tsuna’s Hyper Intuition to make up for where she failed. She had dedicated herself to being the civilian Honda Kyouko, and though she was regularly in touch with Vongola still, she knew she was safe. She didn’t go by ‘Sasagawa’ anymore and Vongola was very good at covering their tracks the few times they came by to visit. There was very little need to pay attention to her surroundings these days.

As she lay in the middle of the street, bleeding out, she thought of her family. This was going to kill Ryouhei and Tsuna—they had been the happiest about her decision to be a civilian, because it kept her safe, yet she would still be the first one to leave them.

And _Tohru_. Tohru was the light of her life and Kyouko was Tohru’s mother. She couldn’t leave her. Kyouko was supposed to see Tohru graduate. Fall in love. Get married. She was supposed to protect her and she loved her so much, and she wanted to love her even more for Katsuya. She wanted the chance to love her more.

Kyouko’s eyes welled up with tears, but she couldn’t move. She could feel the blood beginning to pool around her.

In her blurry sight, she thought she saw Carrot Top. Kyo. He stared down at her, eyes wide and fearful. Her tears fell. He had grown up too, just like Tohru. And she remembered—he _had_ wanted to get to know Tohru, hadn’t he?

She remembered that day, when she lost Tohru. Kyo had said he would find her, had looked worried for a little girl he didn’t even know. He was such a good child. The only reason they had stopped talking was because he was mad at her supposed betrayal, for accepting his rival, and she couldn’t fault a hotheaded little boy for that.

If he was still the same boy he had been, then maybe…

Maybe he could protect her in her stead. Maybe he would still want to.

 _Protect Tohru_ , she thought. “I… won’t forgive you,” she rasped, staring up at him with tears falling from her eyes.

Her voice failed her. _If you don’t protect Tohru._

* * *

* * *

There were whispers following them, and Ryouhei hated it. He hated everyone here. He hated the way his sister’s in-laws talked about her. He hated the way they looked at their immaculate dress and immediately started simpering, as though they didn’t deal with those kinds of people every single day. He could hear how they had talked about Kyouko’s delinquent past and the unabashed way she presented herself, as though it was something to be ashamed of. None of them knew that Kyouko was the best of them. If it weren’t for the fact that Tohru didn’t belong in Italy, he would have taken her far, far away from any of these people.

“There she is,” Haru said suddenly. Ryouhei and Hana followed her gaze to where Tohru sat, looking quietly at her lap as a few relatives whispered and eyed her scornfully. Ryouhei’s eyes narrowed. Together with Hana and Haru, he made his way towards his niece.

Tohru looked up as they approached and a smile spread across her face. “Uncle Ryouhei! Aunt Hana! Aunt Haru!” she exclaimed, standing to greet them. Haru pulled her into a tight hug as she said her own greeting. Tohru looked up at her affectionately and hugged her back.

“Hey there, kid,” Hana said, rubbing the top of her head affectionately. “Of course we’d be here.”

“What about everyone else? Are they here?” She peered around them, as though she would be able to find her other aunts and uncles and cousins. Ryouhei shook his head.

“They wanted to be here, to the extreme,” he said, and it was the truth. If they could afford it, all of the Guardians would be here, as well as I-Pin and Fuuta, and Bianchi and some of their other allies who had all gotten to know Kyouko before she chose to stay completely civilian. But that would have brought too much attention, and that was the last thing they needed. Tohru, especially, didn’t need that.

“Oh.” Tohru wilted, but sprang back up as she always did. “Well, that’s okay! I know everyone is busy. They would have come to see Mom if they were able.”

“That’s right!” Haru said firmly, pulling away to look Tohru in the eyes. “I want you know that they _absolutely, definitely_ would be here if they were able. We all love you, Tohru-chan. We want to support you.”

“Don’t worry,” Hana added. “You’ll definitely see all of them within the next few weeks; it’s just hard to get away for a bit.” Tohru nodded solemnly, and Ryouhei knew she really did understand. Any other teenager would have been more upset, but not her.

“Ah,” she said. “Does that mean… I’m not going with you?” She was trying to hide it, but Ryouhei could see she had been apprehensive about the idea. He recalled that she had friends here; she wouldn’t want to leave them, and though Kyouko had taught her Italian just in case, knowing the language and moving to Italy were two different things. He knew Kyouko had told Tohru the truth a long time ago, too, and she must know what that means. Tohru was good, a civilian all the way—she must be terrified of the life they lived.

“No,” Ryouhei confirmed. “Kyouko never wanted you to go to Italy. Only as an extreme last resort.”

“Oh.” Tohru sighed in relief. Then her eyes widened and she started waving her hands. “Oh, not that I don’t love you all! It would be great to see you more often, it’s just that I have friends here, you know? So I don’t really want to leave them, but I still like seeing you all! I wish I could see you more often, but I know you can’t, so it’s okay. I mean—”

Ryouhei laughed and set a hand on her shoulder. “We know what you mean,” he assured her. She sagged and smiled shakily.

“Excuse me,” an elderly voice called. “Would you three be Kyouko-chan’s family?”

They turned to face a kindly old man, who looked up at them with a soft, mournful gaze.

“Would you be the ‘Toto-san’ she always talked about?” Hana asked.

The old man nodded. “Yes, I am. Who might you be?”

“I’m—I _was_ Kyouko’s older brother,” Ryouhei said. “This is my wife and Kyouko’s best friend, Hana, and our friend, Haru. It’s an extreme pleasure to meet you, Honda-san.” He bowed deeply, unable to articulate how grateful he was to this man. Kyouko had granted him the title of _father_ and spoke so happily about him. He had looked after her, even though the rest of his family hated her. Ryouhei would forever be in this man’s debt.

“Oh, please, don’t bow. As Kyouko-chan’s family, you may also call me Toto-san, if you wish.”

Ryouhei straightened up. “Then, Toto-san, thank you very much for supporting my sister.”

Toto-san smiled. “Of course. She was a wonderful woman. I’m glad to finally meet the family she spoke so warmly about. Will you be taking custody of Tohru-chan, then?”

“Oh, no,” Haru said, shaking her head sadly. “We would love to, but we all live in Italy. We couldn’t upend Tohru-chan’s life like that.”

“And Kyouko specifically told us that she didn’t want Tohru in Italy,” Hana added. “Let’s just say it wouldn’t be good for her. At all.”

Toto-san let out a quiet breath. “Ah… I see. That’s understandable. That would be a big change for a girl to make.”

“She did say she wanted you to be her guardian,” Ryouhei said.

“Ah? Grandfather, you’re taking care of me?” Tohru asked, looking between them.

Toto-san smiled at her. “Well, if you would be alright with it.”

“Of course! I-I would be honored to live with you, Grandfather.” Tohru bowed hastily and Toto-san laughed, ushering her to stand up straight.

“I’m glad,” Hana said, holding a hand to her chest in relief. She glanced up at Ryouhei. “That Toto-san really is a good person. I can tell he loves Tohru. We won’t have to worry.”

Ryouhei nodded. He wrapped an arm around his wife and looked at his niece, discussing the arrangements with her grandfather. He regretted that they weren’t able to take Tohru in. He loved her, the last remnant of his sister, his precious niece. It would be best if she were able to live with the family.

But, he had made his choice a long time ago. Kyouko did, too. No one was going to put the life she had created for her daughter in jeopardy. With his Dying Will, Ryouhei would protect Tohru, and keep her out of the mafia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my reasoning for tohru being told about vongola is because i look at how iemitsu never told tsuna and nana anything and i want to scream. i can't recall very many instances when keeping secrets from family actually worked to keep them safe, and so, kyouko told tohru. she didn't tell her everything, just that she needed to be prepared just in case but she could still live her life normally because it was very unlikely anything would catch up to her. and as we all know, tohru very much knows how to keep secrets.  
> why didn't kyouko tell katsuya earlier? .....mostly because i forgot and was too lazy to write it in
> 
> thanks for reading! don't know when the next chapter will be up but i promise i'll try to finish it soon!

**Author's Note:**

> talk to me on [tumblr](http://heavenly-dusk.tumblr.com/)!


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